History Main / Zonk

->-Announcer, ''Series/LetsMakeADeal''

* The producers did make a mistake on this once, which, if they had been caught, would have been expensive. One of the "Zonks" offered was an oil derrick. At that time, a used oil derrick was worth about $6,000, more than the highest prize on that show. The contestant [[WorthlessYellowRocks didn't know this]], of course, and took the consolation prize, a then-expensive color TV.

* The Creator/ChuckBarris versions of ''[[Series/TreasureHuntUS Treasure Hunt]]'' hosted by Geoff Edwards called these prizes "Klunks", which Edwards named himself.

Contrast UndesirablePrize; that prize is something the producers actually ''thought'' contestants would want. Also contrast ConsolationPrize; it's unlikely anyone who lands on a Zonk will be actually ''consoled'' by it. And, of course, contrast {{Whammy}}, which leaves you with nothing, not even a Zonk.

* During multiball, it's possible to get scores in the tens or hundreds from ''Pinball/{{Twilight Zone}}'''s "Odd Change" shot.

** It is very common now for the Zonks to be completely ridiculous and/or ExactWords-based (which makes them funny), such as "Literal Slippers" (shoes shaped like [[BananaPeel banana peels]]), a "compact car" (a car that went through a crusher), comical furniture sets (such as the "Teeny Weeny Bedroom" and "Velcro Living Room"), "Laundered Money" (giant fake bills hanging on a clothes line), "'Apple' Watches" (they're made of apple peels), and a "Cardboard Boombox", but they still can't actually be taken home by insistent contestants. A few recurring Zonks are now non-tangible items that result in animated skits, such as trips to bizarre locales such as Zonk Island, [=ZonkyLand=], "The Big Apple" (not New York, but the world's largest apple), and the "Swiss Alps" (which are made of cheese).

** It is very common now for the Zonks to be completely ridiculous and/or ExactWords-based (which makes them funny), such as "Literal Slippers" (shoes shaped like [[BananaPeel banana peels]]), a "compact car" (a car that went through a crusher), comical furniture sets (such as the "Teeny Weeny Bedroom" and "Velcro Living Room"), "Laundered Money" (giant fake bills hanging on a clothes line), "'Apple' Watches" (made of apple peels), and a "Cardboard Boombox", but they still can't actually be taken home by insistent contestants. A few recurring Zonks are now non-tangible items that result in animated skits, such as trips to bizarre locales such as Zonk Island, [=ZonkyLand=], and "The Big Apple" (not New York, but the world's largest apple).
* The Brady version has also had food Zonks that fall into the EatThat category (well, for Wayne Brady), such as chocolate-covered bugs and ''mayonnaise mouthwash.''

* In ''VideoGame/MarySkelterNightmares'', fulfililng one of the Jail's three desires gauges activates Jail Roulette, in which you try to stop the wheel on one of several different bonuses. These bonuses include heals, buffs for your team, debuffs for enemies, Blood Crystals, and...a measly 10 Gold.

-->'''Host''': "... six technicolor ponies! Yes, these ponies will clash with every single item in your home! Useful for carrying very small parcels, testing for color blindness, and inducing diabetic shock. This ZONK prize is worth: absolutely nothing!"

** This was parodied in one episode where Mr. Burns offered two inspectors their choice of a bribe, either the car that his "lovely assistant" (Smithers) was pointing to, or what was in a box. (One of them seemed eager to take the box until the more competent one brought him back to reality.

* In the UK game show ''3-2-1'', the Zonk was a dustbin, tying in with the show's animatronic mascot, Dusty Bin. Host Ted Rogers would actually warn, "Remember, all you win is a brand-new dustbin!", so the contestants wouldn't think they were actually getting a state-of-the-art robot worth far more than any other prize on the show.
* The above UK example [[ItMakesSenseInContext makes sense]] when one considers that ''3-2-1'' is a version of a previous Spanish game show, appropriately named ''1,2,3''. In the final Auction Round, the contestants "bought" up to three objects offered by the host. The objects were usually worthless, but they had a card attached with the real prize that could be either something big or a joke item, like the show's mascot. About 99% of the time, getting that meant that you just got a toy pumpkin. But sometimes the pumpkin [[EarnYourHappyEnding had attached a card of its own...]]

* The old Japanese game show ''Trans America Ultra Quiz'' did this with the ''grand'' prize awarded to the champion of the season, which was inevitably something impressive-sounding but worthless like an acre of land in the middle of the desert, or a private island in the Caribbean that's only an island during low tide. The ''actual'' prize for the show was that each of the later rounds were played in a different exotic locale, thus the finalists all got an all expenses paid international tour that lasted as long as they remained in the game.

* ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' has a game called Any Number, where the contestant has to guess digits from 0 to 9 to fill in the five-digit price of a car. The other digits show up in a smaller three-digit prize, and the "piggy bank", a literal cash value of dollars and cents formed from the remaining digits (thus having a maximum possible value of $9.87), dubbed at golden-road.net as "That damned piggy bank".

* In ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}, there are ragged items that can sometimes be won via Roulette, which provide ''0'' Defense.

** The book series had Mr. Boddy arrange various contests for his guests. Sometimes the prizes were genuinely valuable (usually cash or a valuable treasure); other times, they were gag prizes (and at least once the "prize" was a punishment). Examples included a tug-of-war competition in which each member of the winning team would receive a rare Boddy treasure ([[spoiler:a big kiss on the nose from Mr. Boddy]]), a game of bobbing for apples in which one of the apples contains a golden nugget ([[spoiler:actually a nugget of caramel candy]]), a snowball fight ([[spoiler:in which the winning team got ice cream cones]]), a competition to paint the most doors in the mansion's downstairs ([[spoiler:everyone got a prize - bars of soap to clean the paint off their hands]]) and a horse race ([[spoiler:everyone's "prize" was being forced to muck out the stalls, since Boddy had gotten angry with them for fighting over who was the best rider and demanding a race to prove who ''was'' best]]). There was also one contest (a lottery drawing) with a half real, half zonk prize; while the guests weren't too happy about playing for the zonk (a chance to see Mr. Boddy compete in a tennis tournament being held at some point later on), they ''did'' want to win the money he was also putting up. [[spoiler:After Boddy lost badly in the tournament, the winning guest graciously gave him some of the prize money to spend on private lessons.]]
** A couple of their attempted thefts could qualify as Zonks as well. Such as the theft of [[spoiler:the Ersatz Diamond, being sold to Boddy by aliens from the planet [[SdrawkcabName Xaoh]]. Naturally, given the names involved, the diamond is a fake - Boddy was deliberately trolling his guests as a prank.]] Another theft has the culprit break into a large, mysterious crate that's sitting out on the lawn; Boddy's refused to identify the contents, so the guests are sure it's a new treasure. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a new bathtub he was having installed.]]

* Mexican show ''Series/EnFamiliaConChabelo'' has the final stage known as ''La Catafixia'', in which children are [[ImmoralRealityShow tortured]] with doubt and anxiety after "what would be behind that door". There were 3 doors, sometimes the 3 had nice prizes, but most of the time one would have something not so great. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9UV84qOaKs Here you can see]] a kid exchanging his prizes for a "high speed vehicle for the halloween party", also known as "broom".

* Mexican show ''Series/EnFamiliaConChabelo'' has the final stage known as ''La Catafixia'', in which children are [[ImmoralRealityShow tortured]] with doubt and anxiety after "what would be behind that door". There were 3 doors, sometimes the 3 had nice prices, but most of the time one would have something not so great. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9UV84qOaKs Here you can see]] a kid exchanging his prices for a "high speed vehicle for the halloween party", also known as "broom".

* The producers did make a mistake on this once, which, if they had been caught, would have been expensive. One of the "Zonks" offered was an oil derrick. At that time, a used oil derrick was worth about $6,000, more than the highest prize on that show. The contestant [[WorthlessYellowRocks didn't know this]], of course, and took the consolation prize.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}'': The book series had Mr. Boddy arrange various contests for his guests. Sometimes the prizes were genuinely valuable (usually cash or a valuable treasure); other times, they were gag prizes (and at least once the "prize" was a punishment). Examples included a tug-of-war competition in which each member of the winning team would receive a rare Boddy treasure ([[spoiler:a big kiss on the nose from Mr. Boddy]]), a game of bobbing for apples in which one of the apples contains a golden nugget ([[spoiler:actually a nugget of caramel candy]]), a snowball fight ([[spoiler:in which the winning team got ice cream cones]]), a competition to paint the most doors in the mansion's downstairs ([[spoiler:everyone got a prize - bars of soap to clean the paint off their hands]]) and a horse race ([[spoiler:everyone's "prize" was being forced to muck out the stalls, since Boddy had gotten angry with them for fighting over who was the best rider and demanding a race to prove who ''was'' best]]). There was also one contest (a lottery drawing) with a half real, half zonk prize; while the guests weren't too happy about playing for the zonk (a chance to see Mr. Boddy compete in a tennis tournament being held at some point later on), they ''did'' want to win the money he was also putting up. [[spoiler:After Boddy lost badly in the tournament, the winning guest graciously gave him some of the prize money to spend on private lessons.]]